Talk:Prehistoric Park Returned From Extinction Episode 20:The Double Crested Lizard/@comment-107.242.117.25-20191211005748
There is something missing from this world. The amazing creatures that time has left behind. But what if we could bring them back? What if Extinction... didn't have to be forever? We're going on a Safari with a difference as wildlife adventurer Nigel Marvin plunges into prehistory to rescue creatures on the brink of extinction. His plan is to bring them back to the safety of the present, and give them a second chance. This time, Nigel goes back 193 million years to rescue a dinosaur that Hollywood made famous! Welcome to the ultimate wildlife sanctuary. Welcome... to Prehistoric Park! XXXXXXXXX After so many successful missions, Prehistoric Park has become a phenomenal success. From bear dogs, to pterosaurs, and prehistoric sharks, the park is full of amazing residents. Nigel, though, would like to add in a more famous creature to the roster. In his den, Nigel is looking over pictures of both fossils, and a famous scene from Jurassic Park. Both show a dinosaur with VERY prominent crests on its head. "This guy really owes Universal for its popularity. This is Dilophosaurus, one of the first dinosaurs to be an apex predator. It showed up seven million years after the Triassic-Jurassic extinction event, and it was the T. rex of its day. Now, most people think of it as being small, but in life, it was tall enough to look me in the eye. Scary as it maybe, I would love to have one of these creatures at Prehistoric Park." While smaller than the most of the park's predatory dinosaurs, Dilophosaurus was still a ferocious predator. Nigel will need to be careful if he doesn't want to become a meal. XXXXXXXX While Nigel gathers the last few things needed for the mission, the rest of the team is busy dealing with the current residents. Just outside Giganotosaurus Grove, Elise and Sean were busy parking a couple of wheelbarrows by a tree. A moment later, the reason for this became apparent: one of the titanosaurs lowered its head from between the leaves of the tree and quickly gulped down two of the stones. Shortly after than, more of the sauropods began to congregate toward the group, eager to gather more stones for their giant guts. "They're just like birds, aren't they?" noted Elise. "They eat stones for digestion, just like chicken do with gritty sand." "Well, birds are dinosaurs, and these guys are closer to birds then most of the bird-hipped ones...at, they were until Ornithoscelidae became a thing again." "I really doubt that that is the end of dinosaur classification, and I'm not a fan of the new classification system...are you?" questioned Sean. "No." Before the two siblings could debate any further, they were interrupted by the sound of a moving wood, followed by a feint rattling sound. Turing toward it, they saw their younger brother, Tai, using the feeding crane to put a ball into Giganotosaur Grove. A moment later, the sole resident of the grove emerged, causing the titanosaurs to begin to start marching away, preferring to avoid the giant carnivore if possible. The giant carnivore stared at the ball for a moment, before trying to bite it. Yet while its teeth could easily grip the ball, puncturing it would not be so easy. The rattling noise, though, caused it to halt its attempts to eat the ball and instead attempt to figure out what was causing the noise. When it finally determined the ball to be he source of the rattling, it began to start shaking the ball around, this time for fun. "Looks like Tai made a new friend," noted Sean. "True, but I don't think they're too friendly just yet," noted Elise. "Also, we really need to get going for the mission." "No debate their." XXXXXXXXXXXX To rescue a Dilophosaurus, Nigel will have to go back 193 million years, to the very beginning of the Jurassic. At that time, dinosaurs were just beginning their reign over the earth, and most hadn't gotten that big yet. XXXXXXXXXX As the team emerged from the portal, the Triassic world came into view. Where there had once been tropical plains (whether they counted as prairies or pampas, nobody could decide), there was now coniferous forest. Said forest was alive with the calls of strange animals, though not to the degree of a rainforest. In the distance, clouds could be seen, tut they were still a long ways away. "In the present, this will become the Kayenta Formation, and will get even drier than it is right now, but at the moment, it's breathtaking," remarked Nigel. The team couldn't help but agree. XXXXXXXXXXXX Underneath a tree, the double crested carnivore rested. It had been a good morning - it had managed to surprise a scute runner just after dawn, and while the herbivore was a meager pickings for such a large carnivore, it was still a good meal. With its hunger sated for the moment, the twin-crested predator had decided to take shelter under a tree, so that it could avoid the worst part of the heat for the day. True, it would eventually need to hunt again, but it could wait. Then the strange light had appeared, along with a small group of strange looking animals. Their skin was bare, yet also very colorful, while their heads were adorned with loose fur of varying colors. They smelled somewhat like the fur covered burrowers the crested hunter occasionally hunted when food was scarce, but there were some differences. Overall, they were unlike anything the crested hunter had seen. Right now, they were starting to make their way through a patch of cycads, perhaps searching for food to eat. The great carnivore stared at them a while longer, before rising from the ground and following them. New creatures could be dangerous, so it was bets to learn all you could about them when they weren't a threat. Plus, these strangers bipeds might make good meals. XXXXXXXXXX Back at the park, Matilda is getting antsy again. The female tyrannosaur yawned, before shaking her head. Beyond the need to get the cobwebs out of her eyes, some insects had decided to use her as a landing spot the previous night. None were biting insects, which was a small comfort, but it was rather annoying when they landed on her. Once she was up, Matilda did a quick checking of her territory, before walking up to the hole in the fence she'd used a few days ago, dung marking it, and then exiting her exhibit. The keepers had yet to notice the break in her exhibit's surroundings, and it would only be a matter of time before they fixed it, so Matilda was intent on exploiting it as long as she could. Besides, the smell of carrion was too good to pass up. XXXXXXXX As soon as the tyrannosaur had left, the forest floor of her exhibit came to life - beetles, once hidden in logs and roots, now hastily moved toward the recently deposited feces, hoping to snatch a meal or, alternatively, a meal for their offspring. The insects that the tyrannosaur had shaken off her, meanwhile, began to search for flowers to pollinate, or prey that was small enough to devour. Wasps and bees began their search for nectar, while ants and termites scuttled through the undergrowth, searching for detritus to collect for their nests. Though these creatures did not seem out of place in the modern world, they had, in truth, been mostly recent arrivals to the present, having followed the dinosaurs rescued in the very first mission. Lost and confused, many had died, but more had simply followed the most familiar scents they could find so that they could start new homes. This had led them to set up nests near the cretaceous dinosaurs, one of the few sources of familiarity on this alien world. The termites, in particular, had only settled in this exhibit, for nowhere else was safe for them - insect eaters had wiped out many queens, while native termites had outcompeted their prehistoric relatives. As is, only a few colonies still persevered. Enough had made it, though, that there was still a viable breeding population for these arthropods. It was a peculiar irony, that while the pakr had strived to rescue many giant and famous prehistoric creatures, they had unknowingly brought back an entire ecosystem of smaller animals, who had already settled in to their new home. XXXXXXXXX Beneath the baking sun, the Dilophosaurus watched on as the herd of pack of strange two legged creatures moved through the forest, taking care not to be seen by them. While it had already eaten a scute runner, those animals were slim pickings for predators like this one. It would need to eat again later, and these animals were looking to be appetizing meals. So far, they hadn't seen it, which would make ambushing them all the easier. Suddenly, the group came to a stop. The carnivore was perplexed as to why for a moment, until it heard several low bellows and immediately grew still. A moment later, the ferns to the right of the two legs parted as a plate back emerged, followed by more of its kind. Joining them were a small group of scute runners, taking advantage of their larger relatives for protection. Not too far away, tiny runner crocs were eyeing the group, trying to find an opening to attack. This was not good. Scute runners had good sight, while plate backs had good smell and hearing. It would have to be extra cautious around them, lest they ruin its ambush of the two legs. Now, its hunt had become much harder. XXXXXXXXX "Are those Scelidosaurus," asked Tai. "Yes, and I think the small ones are Scutellosaurus," replied Violet. "Weren't the American Scelidosaurus reclassified as indeterminate thyreophorans?"questioned Sean. "...Yes, yes they were," responded Tristan. "So what should we call them?" "Let's just keep it simple and name them Kayentapelta," was Elise's answer. "Fair enough," came Sean's reply. "We can rescue them, right? I mean, it won't screw up the timeline if so, will it?" "...Well, actually, the portal always opens up to alternate timelines so that we don't ever mess up history by rescuing animals (and I am sorry we forgot to tell you that), but we could rescue these dinosaurs even if we were in the prime timeline - they've only got a short while left before stegosaurs and ankylosaurs show up and outcompete them into extinction." "...Why didn't you tell me and Sean that earlier?" "We did, but you guys were listening to some loud music, and Bob called you guys over to help him with the titanosaurs before we could do it again," was "...Okay, fair enough. Now let me get out some fruit for bait." "Why fruit?" "Dinosaurs can see in color, so maybe a colorful fruit will attract them to us. Plus the only fruits we have are also rather nice smelling, so maybe the smell will lure them over if the color doesn't." "...Your reasoning is sound," replied Tristan. "You guys lead the way." XXXXXXXXXX Back at the park, Matilda is still on the prowl. Standing atop one of the park's hills, Matilda took a moment to sniff the air, trying to determine if their was any new scents coming from the corpse field. Much to her discomfort, it was at that a cool breeze buffeted her, sapping the heat from her body. She shook vigorously, as best she could to warm up her sparsely feathered body. While Terence and Matilda certainly had massively different temperaments, there was quite a bit more seperating thenteo tyrannosaur siblings than gender and personality. While Terence was a shaggy giant, covered in feathers, Matilda was a smooth scaled Titan, rather bland in appearance for a large dinosaur. Only a sparse mane on her head and large plumes along both her arms and her tail offered any evidence that she had once been a feathery creature, no bigger than a chicken. The siblings owed their divergent appearances to their parents, though most would be surprised to learn that Matilda looked more like her father than her mother. Though neither sibling new this, their father had been a native of what would one day become the United States, with ancestors coming both from the Hell Creek area and farther south, where the climate had been drier and warmer, meaning that a large number of feathers was unnecessary, if it a burden. By contrast, their mother had come from what was now the Yukon, where colder temperatures were the norm, and feathers more useful for a giant carnivore. Terence had inherited his mother's cold adapted exterior, while Matilda had inherited her father's heat resilient one. Granted, their mother's ancestors had spent some time in the Hell Creek area, allowing their coats to adapt to the semi-tropical environment, but that was besides the point. Not one single Iota of this mattered to Matilda, though. All she was interested in was filling her belly. XXXXXXXXXX Back in the past, the team is putting the finishing touches onto their plan to rescue the armored Dinosaurs. While the thyreophorans watch on, oblivious, the team quickly worked to finish their plan. Sean, Tristan and Tai moved the past rocks into place to complete the stony funnel they were setting up in front of the portal, while Nigel, Aiden and the girls were collecting as many plants as possible and lining them up along the funnel. "We really use the bait funnel a lot, don't we?" Noted Tristan. "Well, it works, so why change it?" Was Tai's response. "Touché." The girls could only nod at this...which ended up revealing something very surprising to Elise. "Guys, I think we have company." "Really? What is it?" Questioned Shaun. "Looks like a land living crocodile of some sort. They have green backs, but with yellow bellies. Only land living crocodilians from this time and place would be Kayentasuchus, so I think that's what I'm seeing." "Okay. Why are they so close to these herbivores? Those things are tiny compared to the Kayentapelta." "Just to them. The Scutellosaurus are still small enough to make a good snack." "Well, then I guess we'll rescue three species instead of two today." XXXXXXXX The king of the Kayenta forests watched on, confused, as the new creatures had begun to split up, some gathering large rocks, others foliage. This would have been advantageous, as smaller groups meant less eyes watching for danger, except that each group had designated one member as sentry, looking out for predators. Combined with thenarmored herbivores, this had made it far more difficult to approach them. Still, it had refused to give up, and against all odds he had actually managed to circle around them and get close enough to strike. His target was the second largest of the two legs, who was too busy putting in a shiny pair of sticks into the ground to notice him approaching. Then the two leg (likely a male, given its scent) twisted the sticks, and thenstrnage light reappeared. The king tensed, instinctively freezing to avoid detection, even though the light could not see. It did, however, serve to mesmerize the herbivores, as well as the runner crocs. Soon, curiosity outweighed caution, as the armored plant eaters advanced toward the light, as did the runner crocs. Oddly, it appeared that the two legs were aware of the runner crocs' presence, yet they didn't seem to be worried. Did they have a hidden defense he did not know about? Then the second largest two leg turned toward him. The two locked eyes. Time seemed to stop. Attack or retreat? The prey was within striking distance, and he might not get a second chance, but there were a lot of animals in the way between him and his target. The two leg opened his mouth. The choice was made. Snarling in the hopes of causing the herbivores to stampede, the grown male Dilophosaurus charged. XXXXXXXXX The team could only smile as they watched the thyreophorans move toward the portal. Behind them, the crocodilians were also advancing, unwilling to abandon creatures that could be potential meals. Caution was high among all of the creatures, but curiosity and hunger were winning out. Soon, the herbivores would pass through the portal, and the crocodilians would not be far behind them. Smiling, Tristan took a moment to look up from the herd at a nearby forest. There, staring him right in the eyes, was a Dilophosaurus. The two creatures, human and dinosaur, blinked. Once, twice, three times they blinked, unsure how to act. Then Tristan opened his mouth to warn the team that they were being hunted. Instantly, the Kayenta King reacted. The predator let out a loud, hissing snarl, before charging at the team. Hearing the predator's cry, their herbivores panic and begin to stampede, forcing the team to scatter as the leaf eaters speed toward the portal, followed by the Kayentasuchus, who are unwilling to stay with the larger predator. Paying no mind to the other creatures, the Dilophosaurus barrels toward Tristan, only just missing him when the teen sidesteps away at that last moment. Attempting to turn, the carnivore missteps, and tumbled into the ground. It recovers quickly, however, and soon returns its attention to Tristan. For a moment, though, it hesitates. A glance back at the rest of the humans draws its attention to Tai, the smallest and youngest of the team. Young animals are normally easier to bring down than adults. The dilophosaur ponders which one to attack, before returning to pursuing Tristan. Tai may be smaller, but he is too close to the others, and the predator knows that he is unlikely to succeed in attacking the group. A lone individual is always an easier target than a team. Still, there is one issue with attacking a human - the coelophysoid has never hunted humans before, and so is unprepared for how agile they turn out to be. As opposed to simply trying to outrun his assailant, Tristan merely sidesteps the carnivores attacks, while slowly making his way toward the portal. The team shouts out him in worry, but once it becomes apparent where he is leading the predator, they begin to grow quieter. All the while, the predator continues to attack, without success. Slowly, he grows tired. Finally, the eldest Saurus sibling reaches the portal, where the group has slightly dispersed. The carnivore is now panting, exhausted form his efforts to attack the human. Still, he has some fight left in him, but now, the tide of the battle has turned against him. The rest of the team reunites with their second in command, presenting a unified defense to the predator. For a moment, the Dilophosaurus backs up, unsure whether to retreat or to press his attack. In desperation, he begins to make a threat display, and that is when the team notices something odd. Now that they have a chance to look at the carnivore, they notice that he is covered in downy feathers, except for the area behind his head. There, instead of downy feathers, are large, curved quill like feathers, which all rapidly begin to stand up. Surprised at this display, the team takes a collective step back, placing them just inches from the portal...and that is when the carnivore presses his offense. The group readies to defend themselves when the Kayenta King begins to make a strange series of heaving noises, only to be surprised when a green mass flies out of its mouth, which promptly lands on Elise. The whole team is splattered by the mass, and is soon reduced to coughing. Sensing an opening, the carnivore pounces onto Elise, only for its momentum to carry both of them, along with the rest of the group, through the portal. The change in scenery surprises the Dilophosaurus, and in the split second it takes to look up at its change in surroundings, the team is able to throw it off Elise and wrestle it to the ground. While Nigel and his siblings hold the predator down, Tai and the recently arrived Bob quickly open up another holding pen. As soon as the pen is ready, the group releases the large carnivore, careful to avoid his claws and teeth. Now tired and unwilling to fight, the predator flees into the pen, and soon finds himself captured. A moment later, a goat carcass falls into his pen, and after sniffing it for a moment, he begins to dig in. The team stares at their rescue for a moment, before deciding to go and have lunch...after a shower, of course. XXXXXXXXXXX "...Wait, are you saying it had a frill of feathers on it? And that is spit at you?" questioned Alice. "Yep. Apparently Jurassic Park got some things right," responded Elise. "Although according to Suzanne, the blob it spit at us was a mixture of digested meat, bile, and some kind of oil. "Still nasty sounding," was Lucas response. "No argument there. Oh, and it smells HORRIBLE!" was Tristan's input. "So, are you guys going to go rescue more Dilophosaurus later today?" questioned Vera. "Of course," was Sean's response. "I think Mr. Frilly could use a mate or two." "Mister Frilly?" inquired Marcus. "We're still deciding on a name for him. Spitter was vetoed by Bob. Oh, and do you guys want to come with us?" "Not today. Bob wanted our help raising some of the plants Nigel brought back from Hell Creek. In particular, he's said that he managed to breed enough of one bush that he wants to start adding it into the smaller Hell Creek herbivores' exhibits." "Okay. Well, so you later," was Aiden's response. XXXXXXXXXXXX Half an hour later, and the team is almost ready to go back to the past. As the team finishes their preparations, Tristan stood behind one of the park's animal moving vans, holding out a piece of meat. A moment later, the male Dilophosaurus emerged from the van, slowly but steadily approaching him, snarling all the while. Tristan held the meat out for a while longer, before throwing it into the nearby exhibit. With a hiss, the predator followed the easy meal, and failed to notice the human teen sealing the paddock. Not that he cared. For a moment, Tristan smiled at the crested predator, before heading back to the portal annex. XXXXXXXXXXX "So, ready to catch some more Dilophosaurus?" asked Nige. "Oh yes we are," replied Ailene. "Well then, lets get going!" A moment later, the portal opened, and the team was back in the Jurassic. XXXXXXXXXXXX Roughly two miles away, on a hill top, Matilda watched them leave, before continuing toward the poison gas ditch. Not far behind her were her reptilian friends - they too wanted a share of meat. XXXXXXXX As soon as the team arrived on the other side of the portal, they were quick to begin searching for signs of their quarry. Ignoring the footprints leading toward the portal, they began examining the area for hints as to where their target may have been. Tracks, dung, fresh kills or signs of grazing, anything that would lead them toward their quarry. Unfortunately, the group is not having any luck so far. Not helping matters is the midday heat, which discourages activity from nearby animals. "Ugh, no matter where we go, the heat is our enemy," noted Elise. "Why is Arizona always hot?" "It's not hot in Flagstaff," noted Sean. "That doesn't count - the monsoons are horrible." "Touché. So, what do we do now? Break out the bait?" "It's too hot for that," was Tristan's response. "Maybe, maybe not. Who knows, something might just land in the palm of your hands, brother." "Yeah, yeah, alright," responded Tristan, taking out some salad leaves. "Seriously, though, the odds of something coming out right now are-" Before the eldest of the siblings could finish his response, a small fuzzy creature landed on his hand and began eating the plants he was holding, followed by a second of its kind. The two creatures briefly had a tug of war over a choice piece of greenery, before the second one promptly took up residence on his other hand. "...Wow, I didn't think something would show up that fast," remarked Sean, an abnormally large bead of sweat rolling down the back of his head. "Um, can someone tell me what just landed on my hands? I don't know if they are mammals or tritylodonts." "I think those are Oligokyphus," responded Tai, "so I'm pretty sure that you have tritylodonts on your hands. Rather hungry ones, by the looks of it." "I can see the indentations of their ribs against their stomachs, so yes to them being hungry. Can we open up the portal before more of them show up - I want to get the ones we have back to the park in one piece." "Already on it," replied Nigel. A moment later, the portal was open, and the two little cynodonts ran through it...as did several more of their kind, which seemed to pour out of the nearby trees. "Why are there so many of them?" wondered Aileen. "I have no idea. Maybe a predator is nearby?" was Aiden's reply. Before he could get a response, the group heard a hissing sound coming from a nearby bush. Turning toward it, the team watched as a pack of small, carnivorous dinosaurs emerged, covered in black and green feathers. "...Are those Coelophysis?" asked Sean. "No, slightly different body plan. Must be Kayentavenator," was Elise's response. "Okay. Can we take them?" questioned Tristan. "...Oh yes we can." XXXXXXXXXX A moment later, in a nearby tree, a tritylodont watched as the strange, hairless bipeds proceeded to wrestle down the pack of feathery killers and carry them back toward the weird glowy thing. It ended up leaning too far forward and fell into one of the humans packs, and was subseqeutnly handed over to a bald hairless biped and put in a room filled with food. The mammal promptly gorged itself into unconsciousness. XXXXXXXXXX Back at the park, Matilda is still on the prowl. Cautiously watching for signs that the humans had learned that she had escaped, Matilda continued on her path toward the poison gas fields, eager to sink her teeth into fresh flesh. Her reptilian companions had followed her, and all of them were looking forward to a good meal. The sudden flicker of movement on the edge of her vision brought the tyrannosaur to a halt. Ahead of her, a truck drove past, but the driver was too busy guiding some of the park's camels toward some unknown destination for them to notice the escaped tyrant dinosaur. Ignorant to the escapee's presence, he quickly disappeared over a nearby hill, as did the camels. Matilda stared at him for a while longer, before continuing on with her march. A new scent, however, was all it took to bring her to a halt once more. This one was incredibly peculiar - it was almost like a mushroom's, but different. She was sure it was some kind of spore based plant, but beyond that she couldn't be certain. She may have been a predator, but Matilda knew that mushrooms were very appetizing, especially ones that occurred on carcasses. Perhaps she could snag one for herself as an appetizer for the feast she was about to have? The mere thought of eating a mushroom made her mouth begin to water, and she soon diverted her course toward the new scent. When she reached the source of the aroma, she was surprised to discover that no mushrooms were in sight. There were, however, strange trees, many just beginning to grow. Nearby, she could make out the forms of Bob, Alice, and Lucas hard at work organizing the plants in pots. Idly, Matilda noted that she could now make out the smell of peat, as well as that of moss and lichens. Additionally, she could see that the plants were growing on some kind of soggy ground. On firmer, drier soil, trees familiar to her were growing, as were several ferns. Unknown to the giant coelurosaur, she had stumbled upon Prehistoric Park's nursery, where extinct plants were being cultivated for usage in future exhibits. The parks secrecy, for the most part, prevented any commercial usage of the plants. Among the nearby grass, which had been cultured from the cuttings Nigel had acquired for Martha, two shapes caught Matilda's attention. They were clearly birds, but unlike any modern bird, they had teeth in their mouths. Additionally, each of them had two long tail feathers on their rumps, as well as a realitvely small tail fan. This was a mated pair of Aviasaurus, a bird from Matilda's time, and they were proving to be excellent escape artists, to the staff's chagrin. It only took them a moment to notice the female tyrannosaur, at which point they flew up and landed on her back and began to search for parasites. Enjoying the birds' services for a moment, Matilda then continued on with her trek for food. XXXXXXX It seemed that Matilda would not be able to avoid the humans so easily. She had left the nursery half an hour ago, but once again, she found the bald-headed one working with plants, this time supported by the little one called Marcus and the female one known as Vera. The smell of the female made the she-tyrant uneasy, for it was intermixed with that of the fin-backed carnivore she had seen earlier. She didn't like other large predators - competition for food was something all predators disdained. Indeed, she had spent some time going around her side of the hill, scent marking the area so that other apex predators would know not to enter her kingdom. She...tolerated...her brother and parents, but she secretly wished she could either evict Terence from the hill, or find a lair of her own - one adult tyrannosaur was enough. Her parents were of similar annoyance, but eventually, they would pass on. Part of Matilda's dislike for her brother was an issue with her own restricted territory. Her father's lineage had been nomadic hunters, migrating across the plains of the southern United States in pursuit of migrating titanosaurs, in order to feast on the hadrosaurs that followed the wandering titans. Males occasionally broke from the pattern, securing a territory to raise young, but females were always migrants. Yet her mother's lineage had the opposite way of life: females would permanently occupy an area, while males were constantly on the move, occasionally stopping to mate with a female and help her raise their young. Right now, those two instincts were conflicting inside of Matilda, and she had no way to resolve them. A nomadic life was impossible for her - the island had too few animals to sustain her bulk indefinitely. Separating the siblings had worked so far, but now that they were mature, this would only be a temporary fix. Either they would need to receive entirely separate exhibits, or they would return to conflict. An alternative strategy existed, though the keepers were not aware of this: as both tyrannosaur lines that the siblings had descended from were social creatures, they could reconcile if one dominated the other. This was also a source of conflict - with their parents getting too old to maintain dominance over their children, they had lost authority over the pack. If Matilda bested her brother and he acknowledged it, or the opposite happened, then the defeated dinosaur would submit and acknowledge them as pack leader. If/when that happened, the pack would stabilize, and no more conflict would happen. Of course, the siblings were so competitive that neither would back down until they were half dead, and the keepers had constantly stepped in to stop the fighting. Thus, a resolution to the dominance issue was unlikely to happen soon. Oblivious to the female tyrannosaur and her issues, the humans continued to work with the plants, placing them into one of the park's exhibits - the boneheads, if Matilda was remembering the scents correctly. Sure enough, a couple of the herbivores emerged from the undergrowth and, after a moment of hesitation, begin to nibble on the plants, earning some ire from the keepers. Idly, Matilda noticed that one of the ankylosaurs was also advancing on the plants, with Bob trying to dissuade it from wrecking the vehicle used to transport the plants. One of the bone heads took a bite out of a fern, then, to Matilda and Marcus' surprise, sneezed on the male human's face when he tried to take away the fern. When Vera attempted to help her companion, the bone head sneezed at her as well. Apparently, her backing up in surprise from the sneeze seemed to reveal something that looked delicious to the ankylosaur, who promptly charge into them, knocking the teens over as it began to dig in. Matilda watched Bob help up the teens and call for help, before leaving the humans behind - her belly needed to be sated. XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX Back in Prehistoric Arizona, the team is still on the prowl for more dinosaurs. They appear to have lucked out. The team had been lucky - the sound of running water had alerted them to a nearby creek, and after a few minutes of following, they had found what they were looking for. Underneath the shade of a few conifers, a group of Dilophosaurus were busy lazing about. Nearby, a group of longnecked herbivores were busy feeding on some trees, while cynodonts were busy drinking from the creek, joined by pterosaurs and wary of crocodilians luring beneath the (admittedly shallow) waters. "...I spotted some Dilophosaurus and Sarahsaurus in front of us," noted Elise. "There's some other creatures there too, but I don't know what they are." "Pretty sure some of the cynodonts areKayentatherium," intoned Tai. "As for the pterosaurus…..Rhamphinion?" "Probably," noted Nigel. "Since none of the predators seem to be hungry right now, perhaps we can bait them individually? First the herbivores, then the predators." The group was quick to agree to that plan. Then, slowly, they got to work baiting in the plant eaters. XXXXXX Back at the park, Vera and Marcus are working on cleaning out the Dakotaraptor Exhibit. "So, just to be sure, we did get sneezed on by a thick-headed dinosaur, right?" asked Marcus "Yes, we did," replied Vera. "Also, how long did it take these raptors to eat a whole cow?" "About a week. I'm actually surprised they managed to pull the ribs off the main body." Not far away, the raptors were watching the humans, waiting for them to leave. "Can we hurry?" asked Vera. "I might like predatory dinosaurs, but their stares are creeping me out." "Don't worry. We just need to drag these bones out of the exhibit, then we can say goodbye to North and South." XXX The two raptors watched on as the humans dragged the bones out of their territory, occasionally climbing the trees in their home to get a better look at the humans. When the last bone was finally out, the raptors began to relax, happy that the humans were gone...until the male one slumped over on to a tree, hand on his head, crying out in...was that pain or annoyance. His female companion/possible mate immediately rushed to his side to comfort him, but when he opened his eyes, they widened in shock and appeared to focus on something behind the raptor pair. But there was nothing there. A quick glance confirmed that. XXXXXXXXXXX "Marucs, how many fingers am I holding up?" "Three. Also, how many pink elephants do we have at the park?" "Just the pink bull that got rescued from a circus a few...months...ago...why?" "There's a pink elephant cow right behind the raptors...and I'm guessing you are seeing something strange as well." "There's a bird-eating spider with wings on your head." Confused, Marcus moved his hand through his hair. "There's nothing there...can we go to Suzanne's clinic? I think we need to lay down." "Sure...which was is that, again?" XXXXXXXX Some distance away, Matilda had returned to the gas field, and was once again hard at work dragging a carcass to the edge of the toxic valley. The sound of an engine, however, brought her actions to a halt. Nearby, what looked like a truck, albeit one with a funny tire that seemed to cover three wheels, was busy trudging by, joined by another vehicle just like it. One had a star on its side, the other had some symbol that she couldn't really see because it had been painted over and scratched out, though next to it was a funny looking cross of sorts. The drivers stared at her for a moment, before moving on. Both of them had strange looking things around their faces. Once she was done looking them over, safe from the fumes due to her height, she returned to dragging back the carcass to her waiting followers, who quickly dug into the adolescent Edmontosaurus' remains. How this one had gotten here was a mystery, as she had seen that all of the ones that lived in the park were still alive and kicking. As she finished up her meal, Matilda returned to the field to pluck up another carcass - that of a nodosaur. Far lighter than the duck-billed dinosaur, this carcass she could easily hoist into the air. Following her was her satisfied entourage, all ready to return home. XXXXXXXXXX Back in Prehistoric Arizona, the team is putting their plan into action. Having set up the portal, and put a huge smattering of greenery near its opening, the team waited to see if the herbivores would take the bait. At first, none did, but then one of the younger animals began to approach and start nibbling. Tai offered a branch to it, and after the herbivore had eaten enough of the leaves, threw it into the portal, with the dinosaur soon following. When the herd heard its cries from the other sides, the gradually began moving into the portal, eager to feed on the greenery. Soon they had all entered the portal, as had the plant eating cynodonts. Smiling, the team readied up the bait for the predators who soon began to approach the portal. XXXXXX "...How'd we end up at the portal annex?" questioned Vera. "...I don't know...should we back away from the portal?" "As long as we don't get too close to the prosauropods." A sudden roar behind them caused the duo to turn around in shock. There, staring right at them, was one of the park's Yutyrannus. "How'd it get over here?" questioned Marcus. "I don't know! Just back away slowly and hope it decides we're not worth eating." The prosauropods stared at the duo, then at where they were staring. Nothing was there. Oblivious to the fact that the carnivore was a figment of their imagination, the duo backed toward the portal...where, unknown to know, one of the Dilophosaurus was just beginning to make its way into the present. XXXXXX The female Dilophosaurus watched as the two bipeds backed toward the, running from a danger that she couldn't see. Where was it? Were the bipeds just seeing things? Part of her wondered how they would taste, but she wasn't really that hungry, and the other strange bipeds had already provided her with food she didn't have to kill. She didn't need to chase down these bipeds, but she wasn't sure whether they would be aggressive or passive to her. And regardless of the answer to that question, they were getting to close for comfort. Taking a breath in, she hissed at the bipeds, who instantly turned toward her. For a moment, they were unsure what to do. Then they turned around again, and this time, she could see their faces, and the looks of puzzlement on them. XXXX "Is it just me, or did the Yutyrannus just vanish?" asked Vera. "It vanished," replied Marcus. "Actually, I think it never broke out." "Well, we have been seeing things...I feel like an idiot right now." "Me too. Well, let's head back to the infirmary now and get our heads straight." "Agreed." As the duo left, they watched as more of the crested dinosaurs entered through the portal, followed by several crocodilians, some pterosaurs, and eventually, the away team. XXXXXX A short while later, the duo is able to reach the infirmary. And after telling Suzanne what happened, she thinks she might have a diagnosis. "You said that a pachycephalosaur sneezed on you, correct?" "Yes," replied the two teens, somewhat exasperated. "Well, we've been looking at the ferns we moved to their exhibit, and we noticed something." "And that is?" questioned Vera. "It appears that they have certain chemicals within them that are similar to those found in belladonna berries, but at far lower concentrations." "What's Blake got to do with this?" asked Marcus. "Belladonna is another name for nightshade," remarked one of the newer recruits, who had just arrived in the infirmary. "In small doses, it causes hallucinations. My guess is, you got some of the chemicals up your noses when the bonehead sneezed at you, and it messed with your brains." "...oh...thanks," replied Marcus, somewhat deflated. Vera just sighed and rubbed her head. "oh, and who are you?" "Pamela. I'm one of the new botany specialists - you aren't the only ones caring for the plants." "Then where were you when we were moving some of the foliage into the residents' exhibits." Instantly, Pamela's face lost some of its color. "...Cleaning up the titanosaur crap to make fertilizer...*shudder*...that stuff stinks...so...much...ugh!" "Oh. Sorry." XXXXXXXX Meanwhile, at T. rex hill, Matilda has finally come home. Terence yawned as the sun moved through the sky. It had only just begun its descent, and would need a few hours reach the horizon. Yet the heat ensured that Terence would be spending most of that time in the shade, avoiding the heat. A sudden burst of infrasound alert his attention to the approaching form of his sister, who was carrying a nodosaur carcass in her mouth. Briefly, Terence looked at it in hunger, before turning away - he knew Matilda would not give up the carcass. Said carcass promptly fell to the ground in front of him. Perplexed, Terence looked at the carcass for a moment, then turned toward Matilda. The female tyrannosaur stared at her brother for a moment, before getting annoyed. She then put one of her feet on a nearby low and pretended to take a bite out of it, before swallowing air. Terence stared at his sister for one more moment, before finally deciding to dig into the carcass. If Matilda had a full set of facial muscles, she would have smiled. True, she had issues with Terence that needed to be resolved, but they were still siblings, and that meant they still had to look out for each other. XXXXXXXXXXXX A few hours later, and all of the new comers are settling in nicely. The rescue team watched as the Dilophosaurusmoved into their new exhibit. The male they had already rescued stared at the new arrivals cautiously, but eventually, his expression softened, and he joined the group. Some distance away, the prosauropods and early thyreophorans were busy exploring their new home, while the various crocodilians, reptiles, and mammals had been settled into their own pens, with the pterosaurs being moved to an aviary. The prosauropods are all settled in, Matilda has returned home, and the male Dilophosaurus is now no longer the last of his kind. XXXXXXX Next time, Nigel and the whole rescue team goes back to rescue one of the most famous of all early dinosaurs (Shot of the team chasing after a green and red dinosaur) But faces some interesting surprises (A bipedal red colored reptile goes up against a strange quadrupedal creature) While the park deals wit its own issues (Shot of the Elasmotherium staring down a Yutyrannus) For now, though, all is well as Prehistoric Park...or is it? XXXXXX The darkness of night had arrived, and with it, a sense of calmness. The male Dilophosaurus watched as the rest of his companions began to bed down. At first, he had worried he would need to fight the other males, in order to secure his dominance, but they had been cowed by his size and back down. Perhaps they would challenge him later, but not today. Content, he prepared to bed down for the night. Then he heard something moving nearby. Instantly, he was and about, trying to find the intruder. He found them at the edge of his new domain, behind the sticks and logs the humans had arranged to keep him from escaping. What he saw surprised him. First off, there were two intruders, a human and another creature. Second, the human was riding the other creature. Not very surprising, all things considered. The third thing the male noticed was a surprise, though. And that was what the human was riding. Said creature was another male Dilophosaurus! Said male was carrying a carcass in his mouth. It seemed to be one of those creatures that had funny horns on their heads. For a moment, the two carnivores stared at each other. Then the one with the rider left, presumably to eat its kill in peace. The resident male waited ten minutes to see if the intruder would return. Then, finally, he rejoined his companions, bedded down for the night, and fell asleep. XXXXXXXXXX AN: Yeah, I love cliffhangers. This is Flameal15k, signing off!